Scars of Time
by TiamatStorm2110
Summary: The doctor is stuck in the prehistoric era after crashlanding the TARDIS. Of course he runs into trouble, he and Rose are seperated and she ends up bumping into someone familiar. Can they work together to rescue The Doctor before he meets his match?
1. Arrival

Rose Tyler knew the difference between a rough landing and a breakdown. The smoke pouring from the TARDIS was clearly not what the Doctor had been expecting as he battled the flaming console with a battered old fire extinguisher.

'Oi, where did you even get that thing' she called out, trying to peer through the thick bluish grey plumes of smoke

'Some bloke in London threw it at me in 1802' the Doctor yelled back 'To be fair I nicked his horse, but what else can you do when there's aliens chasing you?'

Rose couldn't help but snigger at the thought, eventually the Doctor appeared in the doorway –Face streaked with grey smudges and flecked with white foam- shrugging on his long coat and closing the creaky old door.

'Give the old girl an hour or two she'll be fine' he chirped, reaching around his head and pressing his hand on the back of his neck

'Liar' Rose grinned 'That thing doesn't crash, you said so yourself'

'Well…' The Doctor said loudly 'Didn't expect that legionary to get out of the closet in the basement, console wouldn't have caught fire if he'd kept his sword to himself'

'Remind me why you have a Roman soldier locked up in a wardrobe'

' _Had_ him locked up' he corrected

'Blimey, makes me wonder what other treasures you might be hiding in that thing' muttered Rose, rolling her eyes dramatically. The Doctor offered a sly grin, but it quickly faded as he looked off into the distance.

Beyond the trees, there was a large perfectly domed hill. It would have been a perfectly normal prehistoric landmass, if not for the very much 21st century steel door forced into the base of the hill.

'I'm no expert but that doesn't look right to me' Rose said, looking at The Doctor in confusion

'Yup..' he agreed 'Maybe we should leave it alone' he said with a grin

'Nah' Rose laughed. The Doctor grabbed her hand and took off towards the hill, grinning like a naughty schoolboy.

From deep underground, restless eyes watched them approach.


	2. Discovery

Upon reaching the door, it quickly became apparent that whoever had put it here didn't want visitors. The lock was complicated and the Doctor took a solid minute to find the right setting on the sonic screwdriver to open it.

Eventually the door gave in and slid open, allowing them entry.

'Stay close' warned the Doctor, raising the sonic screwdriver defensively and turning in slow circles, scanning for threats.

They seemed to be in a tunnel that sloped gently downward the further along it they walked, there were no turn offs or adjoining corridors, just one straight metal walled tube leading them somewhere underground

'Doctor, I don't think we should go any further' whispered Rose, a feeling of dread rising up into her throat

'So, you feel it too' was his response 'That feeling is artificial, its designed to make us uncomfortable so we don't get any closer'

The blonde companion sighed heavily and said

'So, you're going to ignore it?'

'Yup'

'fair enough'

'Hang on though' Rose began 'Who has the technology to manipulate emotions?'

'Probably someone without any' muttered the Doctor

'Wait… you cant mean? You being serious?' cried Rose

The Doctor shushed her a little more urgently than he usually would and fumbling in his cavernous pockets he produced the psychic paper.

Rose took hold of the paper and read the message on the square of paper

'Getting warmer'

'Eh?'

'Even I don't know' sulked the timelord, shoving his hands deep in his pockets and quickening his step, forcing Rose to jog in order to keep up.

They soon came to a second set of sliding doors. The doors weren't locked and they slid open with a quiet swishing noise as the two approached.

There was a shape in the darkness, tall and shrouded in a dim light, there were small differences between this shape and another similar one, but it was unmistakably familiar.

The TARDIS was standing before them.


	3. Intrigue

'That's…. That's your TARDIS though' Rose choked out

'Hate to break it to you but this one isn't mine' The Doctor said, concern wrapped itself around his voice and he cleared his throat

'I wonder…' he murmured, producing the TARDIS key, slotting it into the lock he was surprised to find it turned easily and the door swung open with the familiar shriek of old hinges.

This TARDIS was dark inside. Dark and cold and very possibly dead. Rose crept through the door behind him and whispered

'Why's it so freaky in here'

'Probably because this TARDIS appears to be dormant' was the tense reply, teeth gritted as was always the case when the doctor was stressed. The metal grating on the floor creaked beneath their feet and the console appeared to be missing parts, the screens were cracked and the cables torn out. The only light was a faint glint of greyish white inside the central column.

'Her heart gave out' the Doctor said, his voice full of pain as he walked around the console, stroking it and bending down to peer carefully at the damaged sections

'Somebody doesn't want this old girl to go travelling' he announced to Rose as she took his hand to comfort him 'But not the ones who stole its occupant'

'What, you mean… is this… _your_ TARDIS?' Rose asked

'Nope, this _was_ mine, it's a relic from my past. Whoever came here in this thing destroyed it so whoever captured them couldn't use it'

'What makes you think they were captured?'

'Don't know, but if I were me –which I am- I wouldn't destroy my home unless someone really really bad wanted to get their hands on it'

Rose let out a whoosh of air

'So I take it we're now going God only knows where in this scary place, to see if your past self was taken prisoner, and then rescue them'

'That about sums it up' the Doctor said with a nod

'Here we go again' muttered Rose


End file.
